Sailing events canceled by lack of wind

QINGDAO, China -- All racing at the Olympic sailing venue was canceled on Thursday due to lack of wind and low visibility, forcing the starts to be moved to Friday, when stronger winds are predicted, organizers said.

Even though the sailing venue of Qingdao, some 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Beijing, is notorious among sailors for its light summer winds and fog, Thursday was the first full day of racing lost due to wind conditions. On Wednesday, attempts to start the day's second races for the Finn, Yngling, Laser and Laser Radial classes were dropped due to light winds.

Organizers first called off Thursday's racing in the Yngling and Finn classes, because their course was farthest away from the boat docks and would require about 90 minutes to assemble the fleets. By late afternoon, they also abandoned racing on the closer courses for the remaining classes: Laser, Laser Radial, men's and women's RS:X windsurfers, and 49er dinghies.

In a statement, the organizers said as many of the missed races as possible would be held on the reserve days set for the various classes in case of weather cancellations.

"Reserve days will be used to try to complete the scheduled races in the opening series," the statement said.

Friday was to have been a rest day for the Finn and Yngling classed, whichare to decide the first sailing medals of the Beijing Games on Saturday. The statement said those two classes will now race on Friday.

However, venue manager Qu Chun said the men's single-handed Finn class and the three-woman Yngling boats completed seven of 10 planned preliminary races, enough to go straight to the medal race, which counts double, even if none of the three remaining run-up races can be held.

Because of the postponement, nine classes are scheduled to race on Friday, with the Star dinghies and the Tornado catamarans set for their opening races, while the other seven classes strive to complete their series.

In all classes except the 49ers, the boats are intended to have a series of 10 races leading into a medal race that counts double. The 49ers are supposed to have 15 races, plus the medal race.

Olympic weather forecasts suggest stronger winds from Friday through Sunday.